1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to the cleaning of insect splatters from a automobile, truck or bus windshield, more particularly pertains to the removal of insect splatters that are smeared by rubber-type windshield wipers passing over the splatters.
2. Description of Prior Art
During spring, summer and fall on most rural roadways, insects are attracted to vehicle headlights, and as a result collide and splatter on the windshield. Standard rubber type wiper blades tend to remove the largest parts of the splatters, however the rubber wipers tend to leave a smear that requires a driver to frequently stop and clean the windshield when insects are in large concentrations. Methods for cleaning windshields is known prior art. More specifically, windshield cleaning devices are known to consist basically of familiar, expected and obvious structural configurations, not withstanding the myriad of designs encompassed by crowded prior art which have been developed for the fulfillment of countless objectives and requirements.
The current invention is directed toward improving devices that clean windshields, more specifically, to removing insect splatter smears in a manner that is safe, aesthetically pleasing, and economical to the consumer.
For example U.S. Pat. No. 4,639,593 to Gilliam (1987) describes a wiper assembly including at least one wiper or squeegee blade with a scrubbing element in the form of a mesh covered flexible tubular member formed integrally with the wiping blade as a one piece extrusion. Combining a scrubbing and wiping blade assemblies have several short comings, for example, these assemblies tend to leave streaks on the windshield, nor does this invention account for cleaning the scrubber, or provide washing fluid to the scrubbing element to prevent streaking.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,235,720 to Kinder (1993) describes an elongate scrubbing blade attached to a blade support having a scrubbing portion that includes a base tip projecting from the base, a scrubbing blade, including a scrubbing mesh capable of passing debris through elongated channels. At least one wiper blade clears a windshield in one direction and a scrubber blade clears the windshield in the other direction. This would tend to leave streaks in one direction because the invention does not teach or provide for cleaning fluid to clean and moisturize the scrubbing mesh when the scrubbing mesh is traveling in a direction following to clearing blade.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,119,300 to Schmid, et al. (2000) describes a plurality of individual segments mutually spaced lengthwise on the wiper blade rubber, wherein the segments overlap to a certain degree, and in that a washer fluid conduit runs lengthwise in the backing and has fluid openings for discharging washer fluid to the windshield. This process would require modifications be made to existing automobile fluid dispensing systems, and could become complicated when automobiles have fluid systems built into hood lids with limited access to fluid lines. In respect, the windshield cleaning apparatus with fluid channel blades according to the present invention substantially decreases the conventional concepts and designs of the prior inventions, and in doing so provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of cleaning the smearing effect caused by rubber windshield wipers passing over insect splatters, which greatly reduces a vehicle operators visibility and ability to operate a vehicle in a safe manner. This present invention achieves its intended objects and advantages through a new and useful unobvious combination of methods, steps and components with the use of a minimum number of functional parts at a reasonable cost to manufacture with readily available materials.